Weight update

well... weighed in this morning at a whopping 151.6.. that is a 2.4 pound gain. 11. 6 weight loss in eight weeks. wowza! i have been counting calories, working out and overall just be careful with this wedding quickly approaching...

this gain could be for a couple of reasons...

i think i need more cardio. tim is right. i am thinking that starting tomorrow that i will head out for a twenty minute run. yes. just twenty minutes. and see how i am feeling.

another reason why i think i gained this week is because of stress. i believe stress puts on pounds and holds them there... with tim being gone, and a graduate paper and presentation to plan and organize, and an observation by my principal this week, and writing sub plans for friday, and FITTING IN A TEENY WEENY DRESS.. could all be stress factors...

my final reason is that i had dairy queen twice this week! yes, each time i ate a small twist ice cream in a dish with rainbow sprinkles... for a low calorie dessert... but it is still sugar... i am proud of myself for not caving into the peanut butter cup blizzard with chocolate ice cream though... MY FAVORITE!!! :)

hoping to see a loss next week when all these stressors go away. i start some cardio. and stop eating ice cream.

Next weigh-in: March 7th

I did it!!

I finished the 30 day Shred Challenge... it was rough... i wanted to quit twice... but i pushed through... thank you for reading my blog and holding me accountable of my healthy living journey. i am nervous to post these pictures but i love seeing before and after shots so i am just going to do it... it is pretty cool the small transformation in my body. i can see the hard work!

Day 1 Measurements:
Hips 41 inches
Arms 12.5 inches
Chest 38.5 inches
thighs 24.5 inches
waist 33 inches
butt 43 inches





Day 30 Measurements
Hips 36.75 iches
Arms 11 inches
Chest 34 inches
Thigh 22
Waist 29.5 inches
Butt 39.75 inches





A grand total of 18.75 inches lost!! woooo hoooo!!

I was SHREDDED!

29 days down. 1 more to go...

i have just about completed jillian michaels' 30 day shred challenge. wooo hoooo!! so close to the end that i can taste it...

what am i going to do next? well... i have been going back and forth with the idea of my next exercise routine. i am really starting to miss running...i have a friend training for a marathon and reading her updates has been so motivating and inspiring! however, it is still chilly and i just can't get myself to run in the cold...first warm day in the spring... and i will hit the pavement.

so until then... i am going to continue doing the workouts on the shred but mix up the levels... my plan is to complete day 30 tomorrow... and starting on monday do level 1, tuesday- level 2, wednesday-level 3, thursday-level 1 and so on...

tomorrow i will update measurements and inches lost over the 30 days and post a before and after picture of the shred.

this time next week, i will be dancing the night away in the teeny weeny dress... 7 days.

body image.

i just watched a video on the Today Show about women and their body image. a high percent of women think negative thoughts about their bodies 13 times a day... that is at least one time every waking hour!

and i am guilty of this. not sure where it came from... but weight has ALWAYS been an issue and on my mind since i was a child. the video mentioned how you were raised could be a factor in your body image... if your mother had negative body image, it would rub off on their children. my mom NEVER said a negative thing about herself... at least not with me around. and she NEVER EVER said a negative thing about me...she was quite the opposite.

where did it come from? the lady said, that women think bad thoughts about themselves to distract themselves from other issues... what other issues? i know i have been down and out with tim gone... and i have definitely been more down on my body since he has been away... maybe that could be a issue. missing tim.

in my younger years... i was always stressed about running and racing and being fast. boom! negative thoughts about my body... i was always obsessed with my body as a runner growing up... i ran competively for 16 years...running against tiny, built runners... and there i was running.. sticking out on the track... sticking out on the course... the big girl (or so i thought)

bottom line. yes i am always obsessed with my weight. yes. i am on a constant roller coaster with my body. one minute i love it. the next minute i hate it. but could it be that i target myself to distract myself from other issues going on... i'm missing tim, but is it worth beating myself up over? i am my worst critic.

feeling a little...

Blah.

my structure and routine have been really thrown off this week... and i hate it. i thought i would do okay with eating healthy witout tim... and i am but i am just feeling miserable not having him here...

my nights have changed... i am having a very hard time getting the last few days of the shred in... i have just three more days to say I have completed the 30 day shred... just three more... hoping to complete it on saturday!!

i also think my sleeping has been off... i am such a believer that getting a good nights sleep helps weight loss... without tim... sleeping has been difficult. i am so exhausted... and my body can feel it.

looking forward to the weekend and having my routine back to normal...

of course with a couple of stressors: wearing a teeny weeny dress (cute!! but teeny weeny), an observation by my principal, and a paper/presentation due in my grad class... all within the next two weeks... yikes!

woooo hoooo!

since tim is away for the week...i am going to stay with the parents for a few days so i don't get freaked out at night by myself... sooo... i decided to do my weigh-in tonight since i won't be here tomorrow in the morning... and it is so exciting that i HAD to take a picture!! down 14 pounds in seven weeks!!




Next weigh-in: Monday, February 28th.

the perfect equation.

bad news. tim's flight is just taking off... he has business in las vegas. he will be gone for a week. and i am already wanting him back. this will be the longest we have ever gone without being with each other... before this, it was three days when he went on business to orlando back in september.

now. good news. i am hoping to lose the most weight this week. i can control everything i eat and not worry about what tim wants to eat too. planning simple, healthy dinners. i am still really hoping to be under 145 the day of the wedding...

combining the bad news and the good news:

tim gone for a week + me controlling my food = skinner me when tim returns!

woot! woot!

sweet ending.

friday night. tim and i usually have a date night on friday nights... but then again... since we have no children yet.. every night is pretty much a date night for us:)... we went to McKenzies tonight for dinner. we ordered lettuce wraps and a buffalo chicken 12 inch pizza to split. i had two pieces of the pizza (i picked the smallest ones!) it was so delcious!

i am learning how to eat portion controlled... why not have two small pieces of pizza for dinner... and not eat the whole half that is mine. i boxed it up and tim will have it for lunch tomorrow. one way for me to be successful at eating healthy is to let myself eat things i enjoy. and not be super strict all the time. i keep telling myself that it is OKAY to only lose a pound a week. it is OKAY.

the waiter at the restaurant asked if we wanted dessert... and if we wanted to look at the menu... tim said we would look... there was an awesome dessert on the menu called Peanut Butter Explosion... it was a chewy brownie layered with peanut butter sauce and fudge and sprinkled with peanut butter chips. I WANTED IT! tim looked at me and said "let's do dairy queen instead" i pouted and agreed. when we left i was SO happy I didn't give in to The Explosion!! i had a 250 calorie ice cream in a dish instead. thank you timothee. a sweet ending to the work week.

onto the weekend... :)

"she wore an itsy bitsy...

15 days. 15 days until i have to put my body in that teeny weeny dress. a super cute dress. but a teeny weeny one. i was hoping to lose twenty pounds in two months but obviously... that is just not logical. unless i decide to starve myself and be absolutely miserable.

hoping to break 150 in the next 15 days... i think that can totally happen... i might have done a sneak peek on the scale this evening... and the scale said 151.2... that is a total 12 pounds loss over six and a half weeks.

finished day 24 of The Shred today. only six more days and i have completed the challenge! planning on completing day 25 tomorrow and taking saturday off... should be wrapping up the challenge by next thursday... hoping to get a before and after The Shred picture up here...

just 30 minutes.

it took all of my might to do my workout tonight. tim had dinner on the table when i got home from work and class tonight. so we sat down to eat around 7:30.. afterwards, i knew i had to do Day 22 of the Shred. i wrote it in my blog yesterday and i was determined to stick to it. i seriously was not into it... as i was holding the plank position, i felt my stomach just sag and almost touch the carpet. i felt like i couldn't do any of the moves especially the side ab move at the very end. feeling "burnt" out. burnt out from working. burnt out from class. burnt out from working out.

i tell myself that i have to work out 30 minutes a day. that's it. the other 23.5 hours are mine to use as i please. just 30 minutes.

30 minutes a day. i know to live a healthy life style, that i need to keep moving. i need to keep moving everyday.

feeling the itch to start running soon with the days staying brighter and weather seeming nicer...

Weigh day.

stepped on the scale this morning... and the new number is 152.4. that is exactly a one pound loss since last monday. for a grand total weight loss of 10.8 pounds in six weeks.

i'll take it... this past weekend, i enjoyed some foods for valentine's day. and drank a martini or two. and ate some AWESOME desserts.

i had every intention to begin Day 22 of the Shred today but we had a faculty meeting, i had to write a paper for grad school due tomorrow... and tim and I went grocery shopping and chipotle for dinner... by the time we were home it was well after nine. and i am EXHAUSTED.

My plan is to do the Shred every night this week and take a break on the weekend. hoping to complete 25 days of the shred by Friday.

Next Weigh-in: Monday, February 21st.

Valentine's Day Celebration

Tim and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day on Saturday night since I have a faculty meeting on Monday and I didn't want to be tired on such a fun night!

our tradition is to head to The Fresh Market and create a meal together that we both will enjoy... this year we decided on bubble gum martini's for cocktail hour. shrimp for an appetizer. steak and potatoes for the main course. and banana chips and rasberry yogurt covered pretzels for dessert.

i realized after eating the shrimp... that i was full. i was a little hesitant to tell tim because i knew he was excited for the steak... and i didn't want to ruin his valentine's dinner... but after we were sitting chatting at the table i carefully said.. Tim, I am stuffed... not sure i can eat anymore. and... he agreed with me!! funny, how i would of eaten those calories just to please him and not disappoint him... i think i do that often... i eat so i don't disappoint anyone... a friend doesn't like eating alone... i eat with them. a family member makes an unhealthy meal... i eat it with them so not to hurt feelings on the time and effort they put forth on the meal. does anyone else do this?

i almost died on friday night doing level 3 of the shred. seriously. when i was finished, i had a real hard time catching my breath again. it was ridiculously hard. took two days off and starting Day 22 tomorrow.

tune in for weigh day tomorrow... hoping for a loss.

and it's a loss... FOR TIM!!

yesterday... tim was cooking dinner and he said to me, as he was stirring up the lemon/mustard dressing used for our tuna salad...theresa, i lost five pounds! tim has been the same weight for years! i was shocked at the number he gave me... frustrates me though because he is not even trying...him just changing his dinner habits to eating healthy has helped him lose weight...i'm thankful that he is on this journey with me and making us healthy dinners at night.

completed day 20 of the shred today... determined to finish 30 days!

i am finally starting to see and feel a change in my body....... it seriously took 20days of jillian to see it work. i was starting to give up on her... but i mentally am trying my hardest to just stick to it...

excited for friday!

Shreddin'

time has been very tight over the past six days. i have had two nights of conferences. a bachelorette party. a day of sleep catch-up from the bachelorette party. a grad class. so to wrap up all these excuses...i took a break from the Shred for 4 days...

i did it today for the first time since friday... and it felt AMAZING! i felt so strong. i was anxious beginning it again this afternoon, worried that i may have regressed but instead i found myself stronger and able to do all of level 2 without stopping even for a break...

so of course, i told tim. he said that it is important to take a break in strength training so that my muscles can rebuild and heal. now tim is no fitness guru...i have never seen him do a day of exercise in four years... so not sure if he is correct... but it made sense to me... and i just nod my head and agree.

Onto Day 20 of the Shred tomorrow... begin Level 3/Day 21 on Friday... take the weekend off and start Level 3/Day 22 on Monday.

and... it's a loss.

so tired tonight. long day of teaching and then conferences until 7:30... home at 8:30... tim made an awesome dinner for me to come home to... he made his version of chipotle since we couldn't go tonight on our date. he made homemade salsa and guacamole! he even did the grocery shopping without me! stocked up on fruits, yogurts and veggies... thank you timothee.

weigh-in update: 153.4 this morning. that is a loss of 1.2 pounds. for a grand total weight loss of 9.8 pounds.

i have to be honest. i have eaten alot over the past two days... hoping to get back on track tomorrow, noting my weakness and moving on from it... something i am really trying hard to learn and do...

next weigh-in: February 14th.

a rocky road.

picture says it all about the weekend. this morning after amanda's bachelorette party, her dad had me eat a bowl of his favorite kind of ice cream for BREAKFAST. rocky road. and let me just say... sunday has been a rocky road. hoping to start again smoothly tomorrow...



Great weekend ladies! looking forward to the wedding and dancing the night away...and it won't be a competition.

gagging on an egg.

i hate a hard boiled egg. i hated the day after easter sunday when mom would take our beautifully dyed eggs and make the whole house stink as she made an egg salad. i would gag. i would hold my nose. i would run and hide. i hate a hard boiled egg.

fast forward to wednesday night. i tried a new food on wednesday night. and it was so good that i made it again on thursday night! i was googling weight loss blogs and came across a new one called peanut butter fingers she had a recipe to an egg salad sandwich... and for some reason the picture looked so good (i was starving, i bet liver would of looked good)! i had all the ingredients and decided to try to whip it up and.... I LOVED IT!! i love a hard boiled egg!!! thankfully i started to enjoy this food before the age of 30 and didn't hold a grudge from it because of those early memories of stinky eggs.

To make the egg salad I combined the following:

•1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
•1 hard-boiled egg white, chopped
•1 tbsp. mayonaise
•some chopped onion
•1/2 tbsp. dijon mustard
•1 tbsp. pickle juice
•1/2 tsp. paprika

I put the egg salad on wheat toast... about 400 calories for one sandwich... perfect dinner... and I was full!!




have parties like crazy this weekend. big bachelorette party for amanda tomorrow! i can't wait until her wedding day... and gaining a new fantastic sister!

onto the weekend.

breakfast smoothie

this morning i had another snow day. tim decided to make us strawberry banana smoothies for breakfast.



i gathered the ingredients and figured out the calorie content in each.




Tim was so excited to use our new blender for the first time!



The smoothie was delicious...and for 300 calories... it hit the spot! :)

Chicken Tacos

tim made awesome chicken tacos today. we figured two tacos to be about 500 calories including a sprinkle of cheese on each one! tim cooked the chicken in salsa, enchillada sauce and other mexican spices. it was so good... tasted just like the chicken tacos from chili's!